Thursday, November 12, 2009

Soldiers Disturb the King Cobra Spirit


Photo Courtesy of Daily News

CHONBURI – Naval soldiers killed a male king cobra by bashing it with a stick and cooking it in a stir-fry chili dish to share among friends. That night, a female king cobra came into their dreams. In the dream the female cobra bit the soldiers’ wrists and told them to return the dead male cobra to its nest where the female was looking after its eggs. The female cobra ensured the soldiers that she did not intend to harm anybody because the male cobra’s spirit had told her it was his time to die.

When the soldiers woke up and discovered they each had similar dreams, they hurried to where they had killed the male cobra and took the remains back to its nest. The soldiers lit up incenses and prayed for the male cobra spirit.

The soldiers recalled the day they killed the male cobra. They had been watching the fight between a king cobra and a python, both around three meters in length. In this battle to the death, the python lost and was poisoned by the cobra. After that the cobra slowly swallowed the python into its stomach. The soldiers then rushed in and used a stick to strike the cobra; then skinned it and used the meat for chili stir fry.

When the female cobra came into the soldiers’ dreams, it said it was 68 years ago with only two more years to live. It did not want to harm anyone but only wanted its newborns to see their father’s remains.

The female cobra further told the soldiers in the dreams that it had 18 eggs but only four survived: two males and two females. This generation of snakes will be looking after the ancient treasures hidden in the area after their parents pass away. The soldiers later went to the nest and found exactly 18 eggs where only four snakes survived.

The chief of the naval division said that no one is to harm the snakes in the area because they are considered sacred and the spiritual guardians of the place. The soldiers who ate the cobra were new and knew no tales of the snakes.

Writer: Adrian Tse & Chet Chetchotisak